Our Best Pork Recipes

This fruity spin on barbecued pork chops is special enough for company but ready in less than 45 minutes. For a complete meal, pair the recipe with a rice salad or simple steamed green beans or broccoli.

This moist pork roast preps quickly, then grills slowly as the herbs and garlic tucked inside work their way throughout the meat, leaving a blast of Italian flavor. Originally published in Midwest Living in 1992, it made our list of all-time best recipes in 2012.

There are a lot of ingredients in this spruced-up comfort-food dish, but trust us, it’s worth the effort for a weekend treat. The recipe from Michael Watz of Chicago was a finalist in our Best of the Midwest® recipe contest.

The classic fruit and pork combo gets a bold update: Slather the meat with a paste of garlic, mustard, lemon and rosemary, then serve with ruby red cherries. This recipe multiplies easily for entertaining.

You can have this comforting winter supper dish on the table in less than an hour, but it's nice enough to serve to company with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. The recipes comes from Gunflint Lodge in Grand Marais, Minnesota.

Although it sounds like it would be burn-your-mouth-hot, the five-spice powder in this fall comfort food is actually a mild blend that commonly consists of star anise, anise seed, cloves, cinnamon and ginger.

Garlic, fennel, fresh herbs and white wine infuse this pork roast with flavor. If you like, set aside half the meat to make Thai-Style Pork Salad later in the week. Pimiento Corn Muffins, mashed potatoes and broccoli make perfect sides.

Midwest Living Test Kitchen Director Lynn Blanchard prepares her pork roast with garlic and fresh-from-her-garden herbs. Lynn recommends that you not peek at the roast during grilling: Opening the lid slows cooking.

You'll need two hands and a hearty appetite to tackle this king-size sandwich of battered and fried pork tenderloin. It's our version of the deli tenderloin sandwiches popular in pork-producing states such as Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

Roll a filling of bacon, chopped spinach and Parmesan cheese in pork loin roast to create this main dish, from Turkey Run Inn in Terre Haute, Indiana. When checking the temp of this roast, move the thermometer around so it's resting in meat, not filling.

For this easy entree, just brush thick pork chops with a flavorful marinade of herb and olive oil, and then roast until done. Serve with cheesy Glad Tidings Potatoes. Both recipes come from the Latchstring Restaurant overlooking South Dakota's Spearfish Canyon.

Wayne Santi of LaGrange, Illinois, cooks gourmet food on the go for cyclists on RAGBRAI, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. He's made these two recipes for the ride. "The lemon-oregano flavor with the meat's juices cannot be beat," Wayne says. Vegetables and seasonings give the rice side dish a boost of flavor.